Toy.



WITNESSES:

H. E. POEHLMAN. TOY. APPLICATION FILED APB..26, 1913.

Patented Aug. 11, 191 1 IN V EN'I'OR mww u. Qrh

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY E. POEI-ILMAN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, .ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN W. FRICKE, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

TOY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

- Patented Aug. 11, 1914.

Application filed April 26, 1913. Serial N0. 763,748

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY E. POEHLMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Toys, of which the following is a specification. v

This invention relates to amusement devices, and particularly to a toy representative of a geographical structure, with a body portion topographically contoured to represent a mountain or hill severed by a canal, through which may pass miniature vessels.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a toy which will be at once instructive and amusing by enabling young folks to manipulate movable miniature vessels through a canal formed in a mountainous or hilly representative structure.

A further object of the invention is to provide a toy canal with miniature vessels movable therethrough, and providing in the canal a series of looks with gates; and particularly to provide mechanism for elevating the vessels during passage through the locks which will avoid the use of water, thus rendering the device safe and clean and eliminating the splashing around of water such as accompanies toys representing marine structures in which water is used.

The invent-ion consists of the parts and the construction and combination of parts as hereinafter more fully described and claimed, having reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of the improved toy. Fig. 2 is a cross section of the same on line X-X, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the toy in partial longitudinal vertical section. Fig. 4 shows a modified elevating device. I i

In the illustrated form of my invention 2 represents a hollow box or casing constructed of any suitable material, such as papiermach, tin, etc, which may be of such proportions as desired, and having its top or upper surface formed to represent a topographic structure 33 which may be simulative of a mountain or hill, severed by a canal 4:, to which ingress and exit may be had from bays or harbors 5-5 at either end of the device. i a

The canal i is divided into a series of locks 66, into which miniature vessels, indicated at 7, may be moved over the surfaces repre senting the harbors 5-5 into the extreme end locks. In these locks the vessels 7 may be elevated to a position for movement into the next higher stage in the canal; as many of the locks being provided as there are lifting stages to reach the central high stage of the canal between the inner locks.

It is one of the important objects of this invention to provide a canal toy which can be safely placed in the hands of children, and with which they canbe instructed and amused by the operating of the miniature ships through the canal andits locks and at the same time entirely avoid the use of water in the canal. i

To accomplish the elevation of the vessels as they pass through the looks from one to the other in the manner simulative of the rising of the level of water in the locks, there is vertically movable in each look a false bottom or platform 8, of a length and width substantially equal to the area of its respective lock. The ends ofthe locks are closable by suitable movable lock gates9 which may be mounted in any desired manner so as tobe moved or positioned across the locks to close the same,as would be necessary in actual water lifts or looks.

In operating the toy, the miniature vessels are positioned as desired, upon the surface representative of the harbors 5- 5 and at diverse positions through the canal and locks, the miniature vessels, it is understood, being of any desired type and class, such as self-driven, or they may be provided with rollers so as to be rolled along by hand from position to position while traversing the canal. Assuming that one of the vessels has been moved into position in one of the locks and is resting upon the movable or false bottom 8, in the lock, and the contiguous gate 9, through which the vessel was entered, is closed, then the operator may cause the vessel to be lifted by elevating the movable lock surface or platform 8 which is supported on oppositely turned cranks 10, formed upon or attached to crank-shafts 1l-12. The crankshafts are arranged parallel toone another and mounted in the body of the structure; one of the shafts, as 11, having a crank 13 disposed just outside of the geographic surface 3 on one side of the toy,and which crank, when turned, will rock its respective shaft. Shaft 11 is connected by a crank or lever 14, Fig. 3, and a link 15 to a crank or lever 16 on the adjacent'parallel cooperating crank-shaft 12. The purpose ofconnecting the two coordinate shafts 11 and 12 for simultaneous and reverse movement is to cause the supporting cranks 1010, beneath their respective movable surfaces or platforms 8, to turn upwardly with uniform speed and thus lift the platform and vessel superposed 7 thereon to the plane of the next adjacent lock or canal surface without longitudinal movement. When any one of the canal surfaces .or platforms 8, carrying a vessel, has been elevated by the turning of the necessary crank 13, of which there is one provided for each lock, in the canal, then the gate 9 toward which the vessel is moving will be operated or opened so as to clear the passage way of the two locks or canal surfaces brought into common plane to permit the passage of the vessel. From this it will be seen that the present toy comprehends an extremely substantial, instructive and clean toy which provides means fully representative of standard canal operations, whereby vessels can be moved from lower planes, as harbor or bay surfaces, to the higher planes of the canal and vice versa during the operation of the canal. For the purpose of keeping'the vessels 7 in a given course during transit through the canal, the several surfaces, as 55, and the lock platforms 8, representative of water surface, may be provided with tracks or trackways 17 with which the wheels or rollers of the vessels may engage and be guided when desired. It is understoodthat, when automatically operable miniature vessels 77 are provided, these will automatically progress through the canal when the gates are opened in proper time. In the event that the miniature vessels are not automatic, as when provided with loose wheels or rollers, then by slightly tilting the casing or box 2 of the toy they will gravitate from position to position through the canal. Instead of tilting the case to move vessels, the individual lock platforms may be tilted by levers 18 projecting across the casing and operable to lift respective ends of the platforms 8. It is understood that any suitable means may be employed for elevating the platforms, as by a single bent bar 19, Fig. 4:, slidable in a slot 20 of the casing and pivoted to the bottom of the platform.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patcm is 1. An amusement device comprising a casing having a top portion representative of a geographical structure, a canal formed in the structure, gates movable across the canal to form locks in the same whereby a canal, comprising a body portion having a topographic representative portion, a canal with lock chambers bisecting said topographic portion, means for closing communication in different portions of the canal and forming locks, and devices for moving vessels while passing through the canal from one level to another.

3. The combination with minature vessels, of a representative canal structure having surfaces forming harbors or bays, a canal connecting said harbors or bays, means dividing the canal into lock sections and movable for opening communication between adjacent sections of the canal, vertically movable members in the canal lock sections onto which said vessels may be moved, and means for raising and lowering said surfaces to carry the vessels from one level to another.

1. The combination with minature vessels, of a representative canal structure having surfaces forming harbors or bays, a canal connecting said harbors or bays, means dividing the canal into lock sections and movable for opening communication between adjacent sections of the canal, vertically movable members in the canal locks onto which said vessels may be moved, means for raising and lowering said members to carry the vessels from one level to another, said means consisting of shafts having portions supporting said movable members, and means connecting said shafts for simultaneous operation.

5. A. toy comprising a representative canal structure having surfaces forming harbors or bays, a canal connecting said harbors or bays, means dividing the canal into lock sections and movable for opening communication between adjacent sections of the canal, vertically movable members in the canal lock sections onto which said vessels may be moved, and means for raising and lowering said members to carry the vcssels from one level to another.

6. A toy comprising a representative canal structure having surfaces forming harbors or bays, a canal connecting said harbors or bays, means dividing the canal into lock sections and movable for opening com munication between adajacent sections of the canal, vertically movable members in the canal lock sections onto which said vessels may be moved, means for raising and lowering said members to carry the vessels from one level to another, said means consisting of shafts having portions supporting said movable members, and means connecting pairs of shafts for simultaneous ope 'ation.

7. An amusement device consisting of a In testimony whereof I have hereunto set casing having a canal structure with locks, my hand in the presence of two subscribing minature vessels movable through the canal, Witnesses. means for elevating the vessels from lock to HENRY E. POEHLMAN.

lock and upon which they may travel, and Witnesses: means for actuating aforesaid means to JOHN H. HERRING, move the vessels along. 4 W. W. HEALEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

